1 .TH SMB.CONF 5 smb.conf smb.conf
3 smb.conf \- configuration file for smbd
9 file is a configuration file for the Samba suite.
12 contains runtime configuration information for the
16 program provides LanManager-like services to clients
17 using the SMB protocol.
19 The file consists of sections and parameters. A section begins with the
20 name of the section in square brackets and continues until the next
21 section begins. Sections contain parameters of the form 'name = value'.
23 The file is line-based - that is, each newline-terminated line represents
24 either a comment, a section name or a parameter.
26 Section and parameter names are not case sensitive.
28 Only the first equals sign in a parameter is significant. Whitespace before
29 or after the first equals sign is discarded. Leading, trailing and internal
30 whitespace in section and parameter names is irrelevant. Leading and
31 trailing whitespace in a parameter value is discarded. Internal whitespace
32 within a parameter value is retained verbatim.
34 Any line beginning with a semicolon is ignored, as are lines containing
37 Any line ending in a \e is "continued" on the next line in the
38 customary UNIX fashion.
40 The values following the equals sign in parameters are all either a string
41 (no quotes needed) or a boolean, which may be given as yes/no, 0/1 or
42 true/false. Case is not significant in boolean values, but is preserved
43 in string values. Some items such as create modes are numeric.
44 .SH SERVICE DESCRIPTIONS
45 Each section in the configuration file describes a service. The section name
46 is the service name and the parameters within the section define the service's
49 There are three special sections, [global], [homes] and [printers], which are
50 described under 'special sections'. The following notes apply to ordinary
53 A service consists of a directory to which access is being given plus a
54 description of the access rights which are granted to the user of the
55 service. Some housekeeping options are also specifiable.
57 Services are either filespace services (used by the client as an extension of
58 their native file systems) or printable services (used by the client to access
59 print services on the host running the server).
61 Services may be guest services, in which case no password is required to
62 access them. A specified guest account is used to define access privileges
65 Services other than guest services will require a password to access
66 them. The client provides the username. As many clients only provide
67 passwords and not usernames, you may specify a list of usernames to
68 check against the password using the "user=" option in the service
71 Note that the access rights granted by the server are masked by the access
72 rights granted to the specified or guest user by the host system. The
73 server does not grant more access than the host system grants.
75 The following sample section defines a file space service. The user has write
76 access to the path /home/bar. The service is accessed via the service name
83 The following sample section defines a printable service. The service is
84 readonly, but printable. That is, the only write access permitted is via
85 calls to open, write to and close a spool file. The 'guest ok' parameter
86 means access will be permitted as the default guest user (specified elsewhere):
89 path = /usr/spool/public
95 .SS The [global] section
97 Parameters in this section apply to the server as a whole, or are defaults
98 for services which do not specifically define certain items. See the notes
99 under 'Parameters' for more information.
102 .SS The [homes] section
104 If a section called 'homes' is included in the configuration file, services
105 connecting clients to their home directories can be created on the fly by the
108 When the connection request is made, the existing services are scanned. If a
109 match is found, it is used. If no match is found, the requested service name is
110 treated as a user name and looked up in the local passwords file. If the
111 name exists and the correct password has been given, a service is created
112 by cloning the [homes] section.
114 Some modifications are then made to the newly created section:
117 The service name is changed from 'homes' to the located username
119 If no path was given, the path is set to the user's home directory.
122 If you decide to use a path= line in your [homes] section then you may
123 find it useful to use the %S macro. For example path=/data/pchome/%S
124 would be useful if you have different home directories for your PCs
125 than for UNIX access.
127 This is a fast and simple way to give a large number of clients access to
128 their home directories with a minimum of fuss.
130 A similar process occurs if the requested service name is "homes", except that
131 the service name is not changed to that of the requesting user. This method
132 of using the [homes] section works well if different users share a client PC.
134 The [homes] section can specify all the parameters a normal service section
135 can specify, though some make more sense than others. The following is a
136 typical and suitable [homes] section:
144 If guest access is specified in the [homes] section, all home directories will
145 be accessible to all clients
146 .B without a password.
147 In the very unlikely event
148 that this is actually desirable, it would be wise to also specify read only
153 Note that the browseable flag for auto home directories will be
154 inherited from the global browseable flag, not the [homes] browseable
155 flag. This is useful as it means setting browseable=no in the [homes]
156 section will hide the [homes] service but make any auto home
159 .SS The [printers] section
161 This section works like [homes], but for printers.
163 If a [printers] section occurs in the configuration file, users are able
164 to connect to any printer specified in the local host's printcap file.
166 When a connection request is made, the existing services are scanned. If a
167 match is found, it is used. If no match is found, but a [homes] section
168 exists, it is used as described above. Otherwise, the requested service name is
169 treated as a printer name and the appropriate printcap file is scanned to
170 see if the requested service name is a valid printer name. If a match is
171 found, a new service is created by cloning the [printers] section.
173 A few modifications are then made to the newly created section:
176 The service name is set to the located printer name
178 If no printer name was given, the printer name is set to the located printer
181 If the service does not permit guest access and no username was given, the
182 username is set to the located printer name.
185 Note that the [printers] service MUST be printable - if you specify otherwise,
186 the server will refuse to load the configuration file.
188 Typically the path specified would be that of a world-writable spool directory
189 with the sticky bit set on it. A typical [printers] entry would look like this:
192 path = /usr/spool/public
197 All aliases given for a printer in the printcap file are legitimate printer
198 names as far as the server is concerned. If your printing subsystem doesn't
199 work like that, you will have to set up a pseudo-printcap. This is a file
200 consisting of one or more lines like this:
202 alias|alias|alias|alias...
204 Each alias should be an acceptable printer name for your printing
205 subsystem. In the [global] section, specify the new file as your printcap.
206 The server will then only recognise names found in your pseudo-printcap,
207 which of course can contain whatever aliases you like. The same technique
208 could be used simply to limit access to a subset of your local printers.
210 An alias, by the way, is defined as any component of the first entry of a
211 printcap record. Records are separated by newlines, components (if there are
212 more than one) are separated by vertical bar symbols ("|").
215 Parameters define the specific attributes of services.
217 Some parameters are specific to the [global] section (eg., security).
218 Some parameters are usable in all sections (eg., create mode). All others are
219 permissible only in normal sections. For the purposes of the following
220 descriptions the [homes] and [printers] sections will be considered normal.
221 The letter 'G' in parentheses indicates that a parameter is specific to the
222 [global] section. The letter 'S' indicates that a parameter can be
223 specified in a service specific section. Note that all S parameters
224 can also be specified in the [global] section - in which case they
225 will define the default behaviour for all services.
227 Parameters are arranged here in alphabetical order - this may not create
228 best bedfellows, but at least you can find them! Where there are synonyms,
229 the preferred synonym is described, others refer to the preferred synonym.
231 .SS VARIABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
233 Many of the strings that are settable in the config file can take
234 substitutions. For example the option "path = /tmp/%u" would be
235 interpreted as "path = /tmp/john" if the user connected with the
238 These substitutions are mostly noted in the descriptions below, but
239 there are some general substitutions which apply whenever they might be
242 %S = the name of the current service, if any
244 %P = the root directory of the current service, if any
246 %u = user name of the current service, if any
248 %g = primary group name of %u
250 %U = session user name (the user name that the client wanted, not
251 necessarily the same as the one they got)
253 %G = primary group name of %U
255 %H = the home directory of the user given by %u
257 %v = the Samba version
259 %h = the hostname that Samba is running on
261 %m = the netbios name of the client machine (very useful)
263 %L = the netbios name of the server. This allows you to change your
264 config based on what the client calls you. Your server can have a "dual
267 %M = the internet name of the client machine
269 %d = The process id of the current server process
271 %a = the architecture of the remote machine. Only some are recognised,
272 and those may not be 100% reliable. It currently recognises Samba,
273 WfWg, WinNT and Win95. Anything else will be known as "UNKNOWN". If it
274 gets it wrong then sending me a level 3 log should allow me to fix it.
276 %I = The IP address of the client machine
278 %T = the current date and time
280 There are some quite creative things that can be done with these
281 substitutions and other smb.conf options.
285 Samba supports "name mangling" so that DOS and Windows clients can use
286 files that don't conform to the 8.3 format. It can also be set to adjust
287 the case of 8.3 format filenames.
289 There are several options that control the way mangling is performed,
290 and they are grouped here rather than listed separately. For the
291 defaults look at the output of the testparm program.
293 All of these options can be set separately for each service (or
294 globally, of course).
298 "mangle case = yes/no" controls if names that have characters that
299 aren't of the "default" case are mangled. For example, if this is yes
300 then a name like "Mail" would be mangled. Default no.
302 "case sensitive = yes/no" controls whether filenames are case
303 sensitive. If they aren't then Samba must do a filename search and
304 match on passed names. Default no.
306 "default case = upper/lower" controls what the default case is for new
307 filenames. Default lower.
309 "preserve case = yes/no" controls if new files are created with the
310 case that the client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default"
313 "short preserve case = yes/no" controls if new files which conform to 8.3
314 syntax, that is all in upper case and of suitable length, are created
315 upper case, or if they are forced to be the "default" case. This option can
316 be use with "preserve case = yes" to permit long filenames to retain their
317 case, while short names are lowered. Default no.
319 .SS COMPLETE LIST OF GLOBAL PARAMETERS
321 Here is a list of all global parameters. See the section of each
322 parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
494 .SS COMPLETE LIST OF SERVICE PARAMETERS
496 Here is a list of all service parameters. See the section of each
497 parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
503 alternate permissions
661 .SS EXPLANATION OF EACH PARAMETER
666 This is a list of users who will be granted administrative privileges
667 on the share. This means that they will do all file operations as the
670 You should use this option very carefully, as any user in this list
671 will be able to do anything they like on the share, irrespective of
682 This specifies what type of server nmbd will announce itself as in
683 browse lists. By default this is set to Windows NT. The valid options
684 are "NT", "Win95" or "WfW" meaining Windows NT, Windows 95 and
685 Windows for Workgroups respectively. Do not change this parameter
686 unless you have a specific need to stop Samba appearing as an NT
687 server as this may prevent Samba servers from participating as
688 browser servers correctly.
696 .SS announce version (G)
698 This specifies the major and minor version numbers that nmbd
699 will use when announcing itself as a server. The default is 4.2.
700 Do not change this parameter unless you have a specific need to
701 set a Samba server to be a downlevel server.
704 announce version = 4.2
707 announce version = 2.0
709 .SS auto services (G)
710 This is a list of services that you want to be automatically added to
711 the browse lists. This is most useful for homes and printers services
712 that would otherwise not be visible.
714 Note that if you just want all printers in your printcap file loaded
715 then the "load printers" option is easier.
721 auto services = fred lp colorlp
724 A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts allow'.
726 This parameter is a comma delimited set of hosts which are permitted to access
729 If specified in the [global] section then it will apply to all
730 services, regardless of whether the individual service has a different
733 You can specify the hosts by name or IP number. For example, you could
734 restrict access to only the hosts on a Class C subnet with something like
735 "allow hosts = 150.203.5.". The full syntax of the list is described in
737 .BR hosts_access (5).
739 You can also specify hosts by network/netmask pairs and by netgroup
740 names if your system supports netgroups. The EXCEPT keyword can also
741 be used to limit a wildcard list. The following examples may provide
744 Example 1: allow all IPs in 150.203.*.* except one
746 hosts allow = 150.203. EXCEPT 150.203.6.66
748 Example 2: allow hosts that match the given network/netmask
750 hosts allow = 150.203.15.0/255.255.255.0
752 Example 3: allow a couple of hosts
754 hosts allow = lapland, arvidsjaur
756 Example 4: allow only hosts in netgroup "foonet" or localhost, but
757 deny access from one particular host
759 hosts allow = @foonet, localhost
762 Note that access still requires suitable user-level passwords.
766 for a way of testing your host access to see if it
767 does what you expect.
770 none (i.e., all hosts permitted access)
773 allow hosts = 150.203.5. myhost.mynet.edu.au
775 .SS alternate permissions (S)
777 This option affects the way the "read only" DOS attribute is produced
778 for UNIX files. If this is false then the read only bit is set for
779 files on writeable shares which the user cannot write to.
781 If this is true then it is set for files whos user write bit is not set.
783 The latter behaviour is useful for when users copy files from each
784 others directories, and use a file manager that preserves
785 permissions. Without this option they may get annoyed as all copied
786 files will have the "read only" bit set.
789 alternate permissions = no
792 alternate permissions = yes
795 This parameter lets you 'turn off' a service. If 'available = no', then
796 ALL attempts to connect to the service will fail. Such failures are logged.
804 This controls whether this share is seen in the list of available
805 shares in a net view and in the browse list.
813 This controls whether the smbd will serve a browse list to a client
814 doing a NetServerEnum call. Normally set to true. You should never
820 .SS case sensitive (G)
821 See the discussion on NAME MANGLING.
823 .SS case sig names (G)
826 .SS character set (G)
827 This allows a smbd to map incoming characters from a DOS 850 Code page
828 to either a Western European (ISO8859-1) or Easter European (ISO8859-2)
829 code page. Normally not set, meaning no filename translation is done.
837 character set = iso8859-1
839 .SS client code page (G)
840 Currently (Samba 1.9.17 and above) this may be set to one of two
841 values, 850 or 437. It specifies the base DOS code page that the
842 clients accessing Samba are using. To determine this, open a DOS
843 command prompt and type the command "chcp". This will output the
844 code page. The default for USA MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows NT
845 releases is code page 437. The default for western european
846 releases of the above operating systems is code page 850.
848 This parameter co-operates with the "valid chars" parameter in
849 determining what characters are valid in filenames and how
850 capitalization is done. It has been added as a convenience for
851 clients whose code page is either 437 or 850 so a convoluted
852 "valid chars" string does not have to be determined. If you
853 set both this parameter and the "valid chars" parameter the
854 "client code page" parameter MUST be set before the "valid chars"
855 in the smb.conf file. The "valid chars" string will then augment
856 the character settings in the "client code page" parameter.
858 If "client code page" is set to a value other than 850 or 437
859 it will default to 850.
861 See also : "valid chars".
865 client code page = 850
869 client code page = 437
872 This is a text field that is seen when a client does a net view to
873 list what shares are available. It will also be used when browsing is
880 comment = Fred's Files
884 This allows you to override the config file to use, instead of the
885 default (usually smb.conf). There is a chicken and egg problem here as
886 this option is set in the config file!
888 For this reason, if the name of the config file has changed when the
889 parameters are loaded then it will reload them from the new config
892 This option takes the usual substitutions, which can be very useful.
894 If the config file doesn't exist then it won't be loaded (allowing
895 you to special case the config files of just a few clients).
898 config file = /usr/local/samba/lib/smb.conf.%m
901 This parameter allows you to 'clone' service entries. The specified
902 service is simply duplicated under the current service's name. Any
903 parameters specified in the current section will override those in the
904 section being copied.
906 This feature lets you set up a 'template' service and create similar
907 services easily. Note that the service being copied must occur earlier
908 in the configuration file than the service doing the copying.
916 A synonym for this parameter is 'create mode'.
918 When a file is created, the neccessary permissions are calculated
919 according to the mapping from DOS modes to UNIX permissions, and
920 the resulting UNIX mode is then bit-wise 'AND'ed with this parameter.
921 This parameter may be thought of as a bit-wise MASK for the UNIX
922 modes of a file. Any bit *not* set here will be removed from the
923 modes set on a file when it is created.
925 The default value of this parameter removes the 'group' and 'other'
926 write and execute bits from the UNIX modes.
928 Following this Samba will bit-wise 'OR' the UNIX mode created from
929 this parameter with the value of the "force create mode" parameter
930 which is set to 000 by default.
932 For Samba 1.9.17 and above this parameter no longer affects directory
933 modes. See the parameter 'directory mode' for details.
935 See also the "force create mode" parameter for forcing particular
936 mode bits to be set on created files.
937 See also the "directory mode" parameter for masking mode bits on created
950 The value of the parameter (a decimal integer) represents the number of
951 minutes of inactivity before a connection is considered dead, and it
952 is disconnected. The deadtime only takes effect if the number of open files
955 This is useful to stop a server's resources being exhausted by a large
956 number of inactive connections.
958 Most clients have an auto-reconnect feature when a connection is broken so
959 in most cases this parameter should be transparent to users.
961 Using this parameter with a timeout of a few minutes is recommended
964 A deadtime of zero indicates that no auto-disconnection should be performed.
972 The value of the parameter (an integer) allows the debug level
973 (logging level) to be specified in the
975 file. This is to give
976 greater flexibility in the configuration of the system.
978 The default will be the debug level specified on the command line.
987 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" Also note the addition of "short
990 .SS default service (G)
991 A synonym for this parameter is 'default'.
993 This parameter specifies the name of a service which will be connected to
994 if the service actually requested cannot be found. Note that the square
995 brackets are NOT given in the parameter value (see example below).
997 There is no default value for this parameter. If this parameter is not given,
998 attempting to connect to a nonexistent service results in an error.
1000 Typically the default service would be a public, read-only service.
1002 Also note that as of 1.9.14 the apparent service name will be changed to
1003 equal that of the requested service, this is very useful as it allows
1004 you to use macros like %S to make a wildcard service.
1006 Note also that any _ characters in the name of the service used in the
1007 default service will get mapped to a /. This allows for interesting
1012 default service = pub
1018 .SS delete readonly (S)
1019 This parameter allows readonly files to be deleted. This is not normal DOS
1020 semantics, but is allowed by UNIX.
1022 This option may be useful for running applications such as rcs, where UNIX
1023 file ownership prevents changing file permissions, and DOS semantics prevent
1024 deletion of a read only file.
1027 delete readonly = No
1030 delete readonly = Yes
1032 A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts deny'.
1034 The opposite of 'allow hosts' - hosts listed here are NOT permitted
1035 access to services unless the specific services have their own lists to
1036 override this one. Where the lists conflict, the 'allow' list takes precedence.
1039 none (i.e., no hosts specifically excluded)
1042 deny hosts = 150.203.4. badhost.mynet.edu.au
1044 .SS delete veto files (S)
1046 This option is used when Samba is attempting to delete a directory
1047 that contains one or more vetoed directories (see the 'veto files' option).
1048 If this option is set to False (the default) then if a vetoed directory
1049 contains any non-vetoed files or directories then the directory delete
1050 will fail. This is usually what you want.
1052 If this option is set to True, then Samba will attempt
1053 to recursively delete any files and directories within the vetoed
1054 directory. This can be useful for integration with file serving
1055 systems such as Netatalk, which create meta-files within directories
1056 you might normally veto DOS/Windows users from seeing (eg. .AppleDouble)
1058 Setting 'delete veto files = True' allows these directories to be
1059 transparently deleted when the parent directory is deleted (so long
1060 as the user has permissions to do so).
1063 delete veto files = False
1066 delete veto files = True
1071 .SS dfree command (G)
1072 The dfree command setting should only be used on systems where a
1073 problem occurs with the internal disk space calculations. This has
1074 been known to happen with Ultrix, but may occur with other operating
1075 systems. The symptom that was seen was an error of "Abort Retry
1076 Ignore" at the end of each directory listing.
1078 This setting allows the replacement of the internal routines to
1079 calculate the total disk space and amount available with an external
1080 routine. The example below gives a possible script that might fulfill
1083 The external program will be passed a single parameter indicating a
1084 directory in the filesystem being queried. This will typically consist
1085 of the string "./". The script should return two integers in ascii. The
1086 first should be the total disk space in blocks, and the second should
1087 be the number of available blocks. An optional third return value
1088 can give the block size in bytes. The default blocksize is 1024 bytes.
1090 Note: Your script should NOT be setuid or setgid and should be owned by
1091 (and writable only by) root!
1094 By default internal routines for determining the disk capacity
1095 and remaining space will be used.
1098 dfree command = /usr/local/samba/bin/dfree
1100 Where the script dfree (which must be made executable) could be
1104 df $1 | tail -1 | awk '{print $2" "$4}'
1107 or perhaps (on Sys V)
1111 /usr/bin/df -k $1 | tail -1 | awk '{print $3" "$5}'
1114 Note that you may have to replace the command names with full
1115 path names on some systems.
1120 .SS directory mask (S)
1121 A synonym for this parameter is 'directory mode'.
1123 This parameter is the octal modes which are used when converting DOS modes
1124 to UNIX modes when creating UNIX directories.
1126 When a directory is created, the neccessary permissions are calculated
1127 according to the mapping from DOS modes to UNIX permissions, and
1128 the resulting UNIX mode is then bit-wise 'AND'ed with this parameter.
1129 This parameter may be thought of as a bit-wise MASK for the UNIX
1130 modes of a directory. Any bit *not* set here will be removed from the
1131 modes set on a directory when it is created.
1133 The default value of this parameter removes the 'group' and 'other'
1134 write bits from the UNIX mode, allowing only the user who owns the
1135 directory to modify it.
1137 Following this Samba will bit-wise 'OR' the UNIX mode created from
1138 this parameter with the value of the "force directory mode" parameter.
1139 This parameter is set to 000 by default (ie. no extra mode bits are added).
1141 See the "force directory mode" parameter to cause particular mode
1142 bits to always be set on created directories.
1144 See also the "create mode" parameter for masking mode bits on created
1148 directory mask = 0755
1151 directory mask = 0775
1152 .SS directory mode (S)
1158 Specifies that nmbd should (as a WINS server), on finding that a NetBIOS
1159 name has not been registered, treat the NetBIOS name word-for-word as
1162 Note that the maximum length for a NetBIOS name is 15
1163 characters, so the DNS name (or DNS alias) can likewise only be 15
1164 characters, maximum.
1166 Note also that nmbd will block completely until the DNS name is resolved.
1167 This will result in temporary loss of browsing and WINS services.
1168 Enable this option only if you are certain that DNS resolution is fast,
1169 or you can live with the consequences of periodic pauses in nmbd service.
1174 .SS domain controller (G)
1176 Specifies the DNS name or IP address of the machine to refer domain
1177 logons from Win95 machines to. You should never need to set this parameter.
1180 domain controller = no
1182 .SS domain logons (G)
1184 If set to true, the Samba server will serve Windows 95 domain logons
1185 for the workgroup it is in. For more details on setting up this feature
1186 see the file DOMAINS.txt in the Samba source documentation directory.
1191 .SS domain master (G)
1193 Enable WAN-wide browse list collation. Local master browsers on
1194 broadcast-isolated subnets will give samba their local browse lists, and
1195 ask for a complete copy of the browse list for the whole wide area network.
1196 Browser clients will then contact their local master browser, and will
1197 receive the domain-wide browse list, instead of just the list for their
1198 broadcast-isolated subnet.
1203 .SS dont descend (S)
1204 There are certain directories on some systems (eg., the /proc tree under
1205 Linux) that are either not of interest to clients or are infinitely deep
1206 (recursive). This parameter allows you to specify a comma-delimited list
1207 of directories that the server should always show as empty.
1209 Note that Samba can be very fussy about the exact format of the "dont
1210 descend" entries. For example you may need "./proc" instead of just
1211 "/proc". Experimentation is the best policy :-)
1214 none (i.e., all directories are OK to descend)
1217 dont descend = /proc,/dev
1219 .SS encrypt passwords (G)
1221 This boolean controls whether encrypted passwords will be negotiated
1222 with the client. Note that this option has no effect if you haven't
1223 compiled in the necessary des libraries and encryption code. It
1228 This is an alias for preexec
1230 .SS fake oplocks (S)
1232 Oplocks are the way that SMB clients get permission from a server to
1233 locally cache file operations. If a server grants an oplock
1234 (opportunistic lock) then the client is free to assume that it is the
1235 only one accessing the file and it will aggressively cache file
1236 data. With some oplock types the client may even cache file open/close
1237 operations. This can give enormous performance benefits.
1239 Samba does not support opportunistic locks because they are very
1240 difficult to do under Unix. Samba can fake them, however, by granting
1241 a oplock whenever a client asks for one. This is controlled using the
1242 smb.conf option "fake oplocks". If you set "fake oplocks = yes" then
1243 you are telling the client that it may aggressively cache the file
1246 By enabling this option on all read-only shares or shares that you know
1247 will only be accessed from one client at a time you will see a big
1248 performance improvement on many operations. If you enable this option
1249 on shares where multiple clients may be accessing the files read-write
1250 at the same time you can get data corruption. Use this option
1253 This option is disabled by default.
1255 .SS follow symlinks (S)
1257 This parameter allows the Samba administrator to stop smbd from
1258 following symbolic links in a particular share. Setting this
1259 parameter to "No" prevents any file or directory that is a
1260 symbolic link from being followed (the user will get an error).
1261 This option is very useful to stop users from adding a symbolic
1262 link to /etc/pasword in their home directory for instance.
1263 However it will slow filename lookups down slightly.
1265 This option is enabled (ie. smbd will follow symbolic links)
1268 .SS force create mode (S)
1269 This parameter specifies a set of UNIX mode bit permissions that
1270 will *always* be set on a file created by Samba. This is done
1271 by bitwise 'OR'ing these bits onto the mode bits of a file that
1272 is being created. The default for this parameter is (in octel)
1273 000. The modes in this parameter are bitwise 'OR'ed onto the
1274 file mode after the mask set in the "create mask" parameter
1277 See also the parameter "create mask" for details on masking mode
1278 bits on created files.
1281 force create mode = 000
1284 force create mode = 0755
1286 would force all created files to have read and execute permissions
1287 set for 'group' and 'other' as well as the read/write/execute bits
1290 .SS force directory mode (S)
1291 This parameter specifies a set of UNIX mode bit permissions that
1292 will *always* be set on a directory created by Samba. This is done
1293 by bitwise 'OR'ing these bits onto the mode bits of a directory that
1294 is being created. The default for this parameter is (in octel)
1295 0000 which will not add any extra permission bits to a created
1296 directory. This operation is done after the mode mask in the parameter
1297 "directory mask" is applied.
1299 See also the parameter "directory mask" for details on masking mode
1300 bits on created directories.
1303 force directory mode = 000
1306 force directory mode = 0755
1308 would force all created directories to have read and execute permissions
1309 set for 'group' and 'other' as well as the read/write/execute bits
1313 This specifies a group name that all connections to this service
1314 should be made as. This may be useful for sharing files.
1320 force group = agroup
1323 This specifies a user name that all connections to this service
1324 should be made as. This may be useful for sharing files. You should
1325 also use it carefully as using it incorrectly can cause security
1328 This user name only gets used once a connection is established. Thus
1329 clients still need to connect as a valid user and supply a valid
1330 password. Once connected, all file operations will be performed as the
1331 "forced user", not matter what username the client connected as.
1340 This is a tuning option. When this is enabled a cacheing algorithm will
1341 be used to reduce the time taken for getwd() calls. This can have a
1342 significant impact on performance, especially when widelinks is False.
1351 This is an alias for "force group" and is only kept for compatibility
1352 with old versions of Samba. It may be removed in future versions.
1354 .SS guest account (S)
1355 This is a username which will be used for access to services which are
1356 specified as 'guest ok' (see below). Whatever privileges this user has
1357 will be available to any client connecting to the guest
1358 service. Typically this user will exist in the password file, but will
1359 not have a valid login. If a username is specified in a given service,
1360 the specified username overrides this one.
1362 One some systems the account "nobody" may not be able to print. Use
1363 another account in this case. You should test this by trying to log in
1364 as your guest user (perhaps by using the "su \-" command) and trying to
1368 Note that as of version 1.9 of Samba this option may be set
1369 differently for each service.
1372 specified at compile time
1375 guest account = nobody
1380 If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then only guest connections to the
1381 service are permitted. This parameter will have no affect if "guest ok" or
1382 "public" is not set for the service.
1384 See the section below on user/password validation for more information about
1392 .SS hide dot files (S)
1393 This is a boolean parameter that controls whether files starting with
1394 a dot appear as hidden files.
1397 hide dot files = yes
1404 This is a list of files or directories that are not visible but are
1405 accessible. The DOS 'hidden' attribute is applied to any files or
1406 directories that match.
1408 Each entry in the list must be separated by a "/", which allows spaces
1409 to be included in the entry. '*' and '?' can be used to specify multiple
1410 files or directories as in DOS wildcards.
1412 Each entry must be a unix path, not a DOS path and must not include the
1413 unix directory separator "/".
1415 Note that the case sensitivity option is applicable in hiding files.
1417 Setting this parameter will affect the performance of Samba, as
1418 it will be forced to check all files and directories for a match
1419 as they are scanned.
1421 See also "hide dot files", "veto files" and "case sensitive"
1424 No files or directories are hidden by this option (dot files are
1425 hidden by default because of the "hide dot files" option).
1428 hide files = /.*/DesktopFolderDB/TrashFor%m/resource.frk/
1430 The above example is based on files that the Macintosh client (DAVE)
1431 creates for internal use, and also still hides all files beginning with
1435 If "nis homedir" is true, this parameter specifies the NIS (or YP) map
1436 from which the server for the user's home directory should be extracted.
1437 At present, only the Sun auto.home map format is understood. The form of
1440 username server:/some/file/system
1442 and the program will extract the servername from before the first ':'.
1443 There should probably be a better parsing system that copes with different
1444 map formats and also Amd (another automounter) maps.
1446 NB: The -DNETGROUP option is required in the Makefile for option to work
1447 and on some architectures the line -lrpcsvc needs to be added to the
1448 LIBSM variable. This is required for Solaris 2, FreeBSD and HPUX.
1450 See also "nis homedir"
1453 homedir map = auto.home
1456 homedir map = amd.homedir
1465 If this global parameter is a non-null string, it specifies the name of
1466 a file to read for the names of hosts and users who will be allowed access
1467 without specifying a password.
1469 This is not be confused with
1471 which is about hosts access to services and is more useful for guest services.
1473 may be useful for NT clients which will not supply passwords to samba.
1475 NOTE: The use of hosts.equiv can be a major security hole. This is
1476 because you are trusting the PC to supply the correct username. It is
1477 very easy to get a PC to supply a false username. I recommend that the
1478 hosts.equiv option be only used if you really know what you are doing,
1479 or perhaps on a home network where you trust your wife and kids :-)
1482 No host equivalences
1485 hosts equiv = /etc/hosts.equiv
1489 This allows you to include one config file inside another. The file is
1490 included literally, as though typed in place.
1492 It takes the standard substitutions, except %u, %P and %S
1496 This option allows you to setup multiple network interfaces, so that
1497 Samba can properly handle browsing on all interfaces.
1499 The option takes a list of ip/netmask pairs. The netmask may either be
1500 a bitmask, or a bitlength.
1502 For example, the following line:
1504 interfaces = 192.168.2.10/24 192.168.3.10/24
1506 would configure two network interfaces with IP addresses 192.168.2.10
1507 and 192.168.3.10. The netmasks of both interfaces would be set to
1510 You could produce an equivalent result by using:
1512 interfaces = 192.168.2.10/255.255.255.0 192.168.3.10/255.255.255.0
1514 if you prefer that format.
1516 If this option is not set then Samba will attempt to find a primary
1517 interface, but won't attempt to configure more than one interface.
1519 .SS invalid users (S)
1520 This is a list of users that should not be allowed to login to this
1521 service. This is really a "paranoid" check to absolutely ensure an
1522 improper setting does not breach your security.
1524 A name starting with @ is interpreted as a UNIX group.
1526 The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is useful in the
1529 See also "valid users"
1535 invalid users = root fred admin @wheel
1538 The value of the parameter (an integer) represents the number of seconds
1539 between 'keepalive' packets. If this parameter is zero, no keepalive packets
1540 will be sent. Keepalive packets, if sent, allow the server to tell whether a
1541 client is still present and responding.
1543 Keepalives should, in general, not be needed if the socket being used
1544 has the SO_KEEPALIVE attribute set on it (see "socket
1545 options"). Basically you should only use this option if you strike
1553 .SS load printers (G)
1554 A boolean variable that controls whether all printers in the printcap
1555 will be loaded for browsing by default.
1563 .SS local master (G)
1564 This option allows the nmbd to become a local master browser on a
1565 subnet. If set to False then nmbd will not attempt to become a local
1566 master browser on a subnet and will also lose in all browsing elections.
1567 By default this value is set to true. Setting this value to true doesn't
1568 mean that Samba will become the local master browser on a subnet, just
1569 that the nmbd will participate in elections for local master browser.
1574 .SS lock directory (G)
1575 This option specifies the directory where lock files will be placed.
1576 The lock files are used to implement the "max connections" option.
1579 lock directory = /tmp/samba
1582 lock directory = /usr/local/samba/var/locks
1584 This controls whether or not locking will be performed by the server in
1585 response to lock requests from the client.
1587 If "locking = no", all lock and unlock requests will appear to succeed and
1588 all lock queries will indicate that the queried lock is clear.
1590 If "locking = yes", real locking will be performed by the server.
1592 This option may be particularly useful for read-only filesystems which
1593 do not need locking (such as cdrom drives).
1595 Be careful about disabling locking either globally or in a specific
1596 service, as lack of locking may result in data corruption.
1606 This options allows you to override the name of the Samba log file
1607 (also known as the debug file).
1609 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1610 separate log files for each user or machine.
1613 log file = /usr/local/samba/var/log.%m
1620 This parameter specifies the home directory where roaming profiles
1621 (USER.DAT / USER.MAN files for Windows 95) are stored.
1623 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1624 separate logon scripts for each user or machine. It also specifies
1625 the directory from which the "desktop", "start menu", "nethood" and
1626 "programs" folders, and their contents, are loaded and displayed
1627 on your Windows 95 client.
1629 The share and the path must be readable by the user for the preferences
1630 and directories to be loaded onto the Windows 95 client. The share
1631 must be writeable when the logs in for the first time, in order that
1632 the Windows 95 client can create the user.dat and other directories.
1634 Thereafter, the directories and any of contents can, if required,
1635 be made read-only. It is not adviseable that the USER.DAT file be made
1636 read-only - rename it to USER.MAN to achieve the desired effect
1637 (a MANdatory profile).
1639 Windows clients can sometimes maintain a connection to the [homes]
1640 share, even though there is no user logged in. Therefore, it is
1641 vital that the logon path does not include a reference to the
1642 homes share (i.e \\\\%L\\HOMES\profile_path will cause problems).
1645 logon path = \\\\%L\\%U\\profile
1648 logon path = \\\\PROFILESERVER\\HOME_DIR\\%U\\PROFILE
1650 .SS logon script (G)
1652 This parameter specifies the batch file (.bat) or NT command file (.cmd)
1653 to be downloaded and run on a machine when a user successfully logs in.
1654 The file must contain the DOS style cr/lf line endings. Using a DOS-style
1655 editor to create the file is recommended.
1657 The script must be a relative path to the [netlogon] service. If the
1658 [netlogon] service specifies a path of /usr/local/samba/netlogon, and
1659 logon script = STARTUP.BAT, then file that will be downloaded is:
1661 .B /usr/local/samba/netlogon/STARTUP.BAT
1663 The contents of the batch file is entirely your choice. A suggested
1664 command would be to add NET TIME \\\\SERVER /SET /YES, to force every
1665 machine to synchronise clocks with the same time server. Another use
1666 would be to add NET USE U: \\\\SERVER\\UTILS for commonly used utilities,
1667 or NET USE Q: \\\\SERVER\\ISO9001_QA.
1669 Note that it is particularly important not to allow write access to
1670 the [netlogon] share, or to grant users write permission on the
1671 batch files in a secure environment, as this would allow the batch
1672 files to be arbitrarily modified.
1675 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1676 separate logon scripts for each user or machine.
1679 logon script = scripts/%U.bat
1681 .SS lppause command (S)
1682 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1683 order to stop printing or spooling a specific print job.
1685 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name and
1686 job number to pause the print job. Currently I don't know of any print
1687 spooler system that can do this with a simple option, except for the PPR
1688 system from Trinity College (ppr\-dist.trincoll.edu/pub/ppr). One way
1689 of implementing this is by using job priorities, where jobs having a too
1690 low priority won't be sent to the printer. See also the
1694 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1695 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1696 On HPUX (see printing=hpux), if the -p%p option is added to the lpq
1697 command, the job will show up with the correct status, i.e. if the job
1698 priority is lower than the set fence priority it will have the PAUSED
1699 status, whereas if the priority is equal or higher it will have the
1700 SPOOLED or PRINTING status.
1702 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lppause
1703 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1706 Currently no default value is given to this string
1708 .B Example for HPUX:
1709 lppause command = /usr/bin/lpalt %p-%j -p0
1711 .SS lpq cache time (G)
1713 This controls how long lpq info will be cached for to prevent the lpq
1714 command being called too often. A separate cache is kept for each
1715 variation of the lpq command used by the system, so if you use
1716 different lpq commands for different users then they won't share cache
1719 The cache files are stored in /tmp/lpq.xxxx where xxxx is a hash
1720 of the lpq command in use.
1722 The default is 10 seconds, meaning that the cached results of a
1723 previous identical lpq command will be used if the cached data is less
1724 than 10 seconds old. A large value may be advisable if your lpq
1725 command is very slow.
1727 A value of 0 will disable cacheing completely.
1736 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1737 order to obtain "lpq"-style printer status information.
1739 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name
1740 as its only parameter and outputs printer status information.
1742 Currently six styles of printer status information are supported; BSD,
1743 SYSV, AIX, HPUX, QNX, LPRNG and PLP. This covers most UNIX systems. You
1744 control which type is expected using the "printing =" option.
1746 Some clients (notably Windows for Workgroups) may not correctly send the
1747 connection number for the printer they are requesting status information
1748 about. To get around this, the server reports on the first printer service
1749 connected to by the client. This only happens if the connection number sent
1752 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. Otherwise
1753 it is placed at the end of the command.
1755 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lpq
1756 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1759 depends on the setting of "printing ="
1762 lpq command = /usr/bin/lpq %p
1764 .SS lpresume command (S)
1765 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1766 order to restart or continue printing or spooling a specific print job.
1768 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name and
1769 job number to resume the print job. See also the lppause command.
1771 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1772 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1774 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lpresume
1775 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1778 Currently no default value is given to this string
1780 .B Example for HPUX:
1781 lpresume command = /usr/bin/lpalt %p-%j -p2
1783 .SS lprm command (S)
1784 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1785 order to delete a print job.
1787 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name
1788 and job number, and deletes the print job.
1790 Currently seven styles of printer control are supported; BSD, SYSV, AIX
1791 HPUX, QNX, LPRNG and PLP. This covers most UNIX systems. You control
1792 which type is expected using the "printing =" option.
1794 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1795 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1797 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lprm
1798 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1801 depends on the setting of "printing ="
1804 lprm command = /usr/bin/lprm -P%p %j
1807 lprm command = /usr/bin/cancel %p-%j
1809 .SS magic output (S)
1810 This parameter specifies the name of a file which will contain output
1811 created by a magic script (see
1815 Warning: If two clients use the same magic script in the same directory the
1816 output file content is undefined.
1818 magic output = <magic script name>.out
1821 magic output = myfile.txt
1822 .SS magic script (S)
1823 This parameter specifies the name of a file which, if opened, will be
1824 executed by the server when the file is closed. This allows a UNIX script
1825 to be sent to the Samba host and executed on behalf of the connected user.
1827 Scripts executed in this way will be deleted upon completion, permissions
1830 If the script generates output, output will be sent to the file specified by
1833 parameter (see above).
1835 Note that some shells are unable to interpret scripts containing
1836 carriage-return-linefeed instead of linefeed as the end-of-line
1837 marker. Magic scripts must be executable "as is" on the host, which
1838 for some hosts and some shells will require filtering at the DOS end.
1840 Magic scripts are EXPERIMENTAL and should NOT be relied upon.
1843 None. Magic scripts disabled.
1846 magic script = user.csh
1850 See the section on "NAME MANGLING"
1853 This is for those who want to directly map UNIX file names which are
1854 not representable on DOS. The mangling of names is not always what is
1855 needed. In particular you may have documents with file extensions
1856 that differ between DOS and UNIX. For example, under UNIX it is common
1857 to use .html for HTML files, whereas under DOS .htm is more commonly
1860 So to map 'html' to 'htm' you put:
1862 mangled map = (*.html *.htm)
1864 One very useful case is to remove the annoying ;1 off the ends of
1865 filenames on some CDROMS (only visible under some UNIXes). To do this
1866 use a map of (*;1 *)
1872 mangled map = (*;1 *)
1874 .SS mangled names (S)
1875 This controls whether non-DOS names under UNIX should be mapped to
1876 DOS-compatible names ("mangled") and made visible, or whether non-DOS names
1877 should simply be ignored.
1879 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for details on how to control the
1882 If mangling is used then the mangling algorithm is as follows:
1884 - the first (up to) five alphanumeric characters before the rightmost dot of
1885 the filename are preserved, forced to upper case, and appear as the first (up
1886 to) five characters of the mangled name.
1888 - a tilde ("~") is appended to the first part of the mangled name, followed
1889 by a two-character unique sequence, based on the original root name
1890 (i.e., the original filename minus its final extension). The final
1891 extension is included in the hash calculation only if it contains any upper
1892 case characters or is longer than three characters.
1894 Note that the character to use may be specified using the "mangling
1895 char" option, if you don't like ~.
1897 - the first three alphanumeric characters of the final extension are preserved,
1898 forced to upper case and appear as the extension of the mangled name. The
1899 final extension is defined as that part of the original filename after the
1900 rightmost dot. If there are no dots in the filename, the mangled name will
1901 have no extension (except in the case of hidden files - see below).
1903 - files whose UNIX name begins with a dot will be presented as DOS hidden
1904 files. The mangled name will be created as for other filenames, but with the
1905 leading dot removed and "___" as its extension regardless of actual original
1906 extension (that's three underscores).
1909 The two-digit hash value consists of upper case alphanumeric characters.
1911 This algorithm can cause name collisions only if files in a directory share
1912 the same first five alphanumeric characters. The probability of such a clash
1915 The name mangling (if enabled) allows a file to be copied between UNIX
1916 directories from DOS while retaining the long UNIX filename. UNIX files can
1917 be renamed to a new extension from DOS and will retain the same basename.
1918 Mangled names do not change between sessions.
1925 .SS mangling char (S)
1926 This controls what character is used as the "magic" character in name
1927 mangling. The default is a ~ but this may interfere with some
1928 software. Use this option to set it to whatever you prefer.
1936 .SS mangled stack (G)
1937 This parameter controls the number of mangled names that should be cached in
1940 This stack is a list of recently mangled base names (extensions are only
1941 maintained if they are longer than 3 characters or contains upper case
1944 The larger this value, the more likely it is that mangled names can be
1945 successfully converted to correct long UNIX names. However, large stack
1946 sizes will slow most directory access. Smaller stacks save memory in the
1947 server (each stack element costs 256 bytes).
1949 It is not possible to absolutely guarantee correct long file names, so
1950 be prepared for some surprises!
1959 This controls whether the DOS archive attribute should be mapped to the
1960 UNIX owner execute bit. The DOS archive bit is set when a file has been modified
1961 since its last backup. One motivation for this option it to keep Samba/your
1962 PC from making any file it touches from becoming executable under UNIX.
1963 This can be quite annoying for shared source code, documents, etc...
1965 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that owner
1966 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 100). See the
1967 parameter "create mask" for details.
1976 This controls whether DOS style hidden files should be mapped to the
1977 UNIX world execute bit.
1979 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that the world
1980 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 001).
1981 See the parameter "create mask" for details.
1989 This controls whether DOS style system files should be mapped to the
1990 UNIX group execute bit.
1992 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that the group
1993 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 010). See the parameter
1994 "create mask" for details.
2001 .SS max connections (S)
2002 This option allows the number of simultaneous connections to a
2003 service to be limited. If "max connections" is greater than 0 then
2004 connections will be refused if this number of connections to the
2005 service are already open. A value of zero mean an unlimited number of
2006 connections may be made.
2008 Record lock files are used to implement this feature. The lock files
2009 will be stored in the directory specified by the "lock directory" option.
2015 max connections = 10
2017 .SS max disk size (G)
2018 This option allows you to put an upper limit on the apparent size of
2019 disks. If you set this option to 100 then all shares will appear to be
2020 not larger than 100 MB in size.
2022 Note that this option does not limit the amount of data you can put on
2023 the disk. In the above case you could still store much more than 100
2024 MB on the disk, but if a client ever asks for the amount of free disk
2025 space or the total disk size then the result will be bounded by the
2026 amount specified in "max disk size".
2028 This option is primarily useful to work around bugs in some pieces of
2029 software that can't handle very large disks, particularly disks over
2032 A "max disk size" of 0 means no limit.
2038 max disk size = 1000
2040 .SS max log size (G)
2042 This option (an integer in kilobytes) specifies the max size the log
2043 file should grow to. Samba periodically checks the size and if it is
2044 exceeded it will rename the file, adding a .old extension.
2046 A size of 0 means no limit.
2056 This option controls the maximum number of outstanding simultaneous SMB
2057 operations that samba tells the client it will allow. You should never need
2058 to set this parameter.
2065 A synonym for this parameter is 'packet size'.
2069 This option tells nmbd what the default 'time to live' of NetBIOS
2070 names should be (in seconds). You should never need to change this parameter.
2076 This option controls the maximum packet size that will be negotiated
2077 by Samba. The default is 65535, which is the maximum. In some cases
2078 you may find you get better performance with a smaller value. A value
2079 below 2048 is likely to cause problems.
2087 .SS message command (G)
2089 This specifies what command to run when the server receives a WinPopup
2092 This would normally be a command that would deliver the message
2093 somehow. How this is to be done is up to your imagination.
2097 message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
2099 This delivers the message using xedit, then removes it
2100 afterwards. NOTE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS COMMAND RETURN
2101 IMMEDIATELY. That's why I have the & on the end. If it doesn't return
2102 immediately then your PCs may freeze when sending messages (they
2103 should recover after 30secs, hopefully).
2105 All messages are delivered as the global guest user. The command takes
2106 the standard substitutions, although %u won't work (%U may be better
2109 Apart from the standard substitutions, some additional ones apply. In
2112 %s = the filename containing the message
2114 %t = the destination that the message was sent to (probably the server
2117 %f = who the message is from
2119 You could make this command send mail, or whatever else takes your
2120 fancy. Please let me know of any really interesting ideas you have.
2122 Here's a way of sending the messages as mail to root:
2124 message command = /bin/mail -s 'message from %f on %m' root < %s; rm %s
2126 If you don't have a message command then the message won't be
2127 delivered and Samba will tell the sender there was an
2128 error. Unfortunately WfWg totally ignores the error code and carries
2129 on regardless, saying that the message was delivered.
2131 If you want to silently delete it then try "message command = rm %s".
2133 For the really adventurous, try something like this:
2135 message command = csh -c 'csh < %s |& /usr/local/samba/bin/smbclient \e
2138 this would execute the command as a script on the server, then give
2139 them the result in a WinPopup message. Note that this could cause a
2140 loop if you send a message from the server using smbclient! You better
2141 wrap the above in a script that checks for this :-)
2147 message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
2149 .SS min print space (S)
2151 This sets the minimum amount of free disk space that must be available
2152 before a user will be able to spool a print job. It is specified in
2153 kilobytes. The default is 0, which means no limit.
2159 min print space = 2000
2161 .SS netbios aliases (G)
2163 This is a list of names that nmbd will advertise as additional
2164 names by which the Samba server is known. This allows one machine
2165 to appear in browse lists under multiple names. If a machine is
2166 acting as a browse server or logon server none of these names
2167 will be advertised as either browse server or logon servers, only
2168 the primary name of the machine will be advertised with these
2171 See also 'netbios name'.
2174 netbios aliases = TEST TEST1 TEST2
2176 .SS netbios name (G)
2178 This sets the NetBIOS name by which a Samba server is known. By
2179 default it is the same as the first component of the host's DNS name.
2180 If a machine is a browse server or logon server this name (or the
2181 first component of the hosts DNS name) will be the name that these
2182 services are advertised under.
2184 See also 'netbios aliases'.
2187 netbios name = MYNAME
2190 Get the home share server from a NIS (or YP) map. For unix systems that
2191 use an automounter, the user's home directory will often be mounted on
2192 a workstation on demand from a remote server. When the Samba logon server
2193 is not the actual home directory server, two network hops are required
2194 to access the home directory and this can be very slow especially with
2195 writing via Samba to an NFS mounted directory. This option allows samba
2196 to return the home share as being on a different server to the logon
2197 server and as long as a samba daemon is running on the home directory
2198 server, it will be mounted on the Samba client directly from the directory
2199 server. When Samba is returning the home share to the client, it will
2200 consult the NIS (or YP) map specified in "homedir map" and return the
2201 server listed there.
2209 .SS null passwords (G)
2210 Allow or disallow access to accounts that have null passwords.
2216 null passwords = yes
2219 A synonym for this command is 'guest only'.
2222 This is a boolean option that controls whether connections with
2223 usernames not in the user= list will be allowed. By default this
2224 option is disabled so a client can supply a username to be used by
2227 Note that this also means Samba won't try to deduce usernames from the
2228 service name. This can be annoying for the [homes] section. To get
2229 around this you could use "user = %S" which means your "user" list
2230 will be just the service name, which for home directories is the name
2240 This integer value controls what level Samba advertises itself as for
2241 browse elections. See BROWSING.txt for details.
2244 The maximum transmit packet size during a raw read. This option is no
2245 longer implemented as of version 1.7.00, and is kept only so old
2246 configuration files do not become invalid.
2249 This string controls the "chat" conversation that takes places
2250 between smbd and the local password changing program to change the
2251 users password. The string describes a sequence of response-receive
2252 pairs that smbd uses to determine what to send to the passwd program
2253 and what to expect back. If the expected output is not received then
2254 the password is not changed.
2256 This chat sequence is often quite site specific, depending on what
2257 local methods are used for password control (such as NIS+ etc).
2259 The string can contain the macros %o and %n which are substituted for
2260 the old and new passwords respectively. It can also contain the
2261 standard macros \en \er \et and \es to give line-feed, carriage-return,
2264 The string can also contain a * which matches any sequence of
2267 Double quotes can be used to collect strings with spaces in them into
2270 If the send string in any part of the chat sequence is a fullstop "."
2271 then no string is sent. Similarly, is the expect string is a fullstop
2272 then no string is expected.
2275 passwd chat = "*Enter OLD password*" %o\en "*Enter NEW password*" %n\en \e
2276 "*Reenter NEW password*" %n\en "*Password changed*"
2280 passwd chat = *old*password* %o\en *new*password* %n\en *new*password* %n\en *changed*
2282 .SS passwd program (G)
2283 The name of a program that can be used to set user passwords.
2285 This is only necessary if you have enabled remote password changing at
2286 compile time. Any occurrences of %u will be replaced with the user
2289 Also note that many passwd programs insist in "reasonable" passwords,
2290 such as a minimum length, or the inclusion of mixed case chars and
2291 digits. This can pose a problem as some clients (such as Windows for
2292 Workgroups) uppercase the password before sending it.
2295 passwd program = /bin/passwd
2298 passwd program = /sbin/passwd %u
2300 .SS password level (G)
2301 Some client/server combinations have difficulty with mixed-case passwords.
2302 One offending client is Windows for Workgroups, which for some reason forces
2303 passwords to upper case when using the LANMAN1 protocol, but leaves them alone
2304 when using COREPLUS!
2306 This parameter defines the maximum number of characters that may be upper case
2309 For example, say the password given was "FRED". If
2311 is set to 1 (one), the following combinations would be tried if "FRED" failed:
2312 "Fred", "fred", "fRed", "frEd", "freD". If
2313 .B password level was set to 2 (two), the following combinations would also be
2314 tried: "FRed", "FrEd", "FreD", "fREd", "fReD", "frED". And so on.
2316 The higher value this parameter is set to the more likely it is that a mixed
2317 case password will be matched against a single case password. However, you
2318 should be aware that use of this parameter reduces security and increases the
2319 time taken to process a new connection.
2321 A value of zero will cause only two attempts to be made - the password as is
2322 and the password in all-lower case.
2324 If you find the connections are taking too long with this option then
2325 you probably have a slow crypt() routine. Samba now comes with a fast
2326 "ufc crypt" that you can select in the Makefile. You should also make
2327 sure the PASSWORD_LENGTH option is correct for your system in local.h
2328 and includes.h. On most systems only the first 8 chars of a password
2329 are significant so PASSWORD_LENGTH should be 8, but on some longer
2330 passwords are significant. The includes.h file tries to select the
2331 right length for your system.
2339 .SS password server (G)
2341 By specifying the name of another SMB server (such as a WinNT box)
2342 with this option, and using "security = server" you can get Samba to
2343 do all its username/password validation via a remote server.
2345 This options sets the name of the password server to use. It must be a
2346 netbios name, so if the machine's netbios name is different from its
2347 internet name then you may have to add its netbios name to
2350 The password server much be a machine capable of using the "LM1.2X002"
2351 or the "LM NT 0.12" protocol, and it must be in user level security
2354 NOTE: Using a password server means your UNIX box (running Samba) is
2355 only as secure as your password server. DO NOT CHOOSE A PASSWORD
2356 SERVER THAT YOU DON'T COMPLETELY TRUST.
2358 Never point a Samba server at itself for password serving. This will
2359 cause a loop and could lock up your Samba server!
2361 The name of the password server takes the standard substitutions, but
2362 probably the only useful one is %m, which means the Samba server will
2363 use the incoming client as the password server. If you use this then
2364 you better trust your clients, and you better restrict them with hosts
2367 If you list several hosts in the "password server" option then smbd
2368 will try each in turn till it finds one that responds. This is useful
2369 in case your primary server goes down.
2372 A synonym for this parameter is 'directory'.
2374 This parameter specifies a directory to which the user of the service is to
2375 be given access. In the case of printable services, this is where print data
2376 will spool prior to being submitted to the host for printing.
2378 For a printable service offering guest access, the service should be readonly
2379 and the path should be world-writable and have the sticky bit set. This is not
2380 mandatory of course, but you probably won't get the results you expect if you
2383 Any occurrences of %u in the path will be replaced with the username
2384 that the client is connecting as. Any occurrences of %m will be
2385 replaced by the name of the machine they are connecting from. These
2386 replacements are very useful for setting up pseudo home directories
2389 Note that this path will be based on 'root dir' if one was specified.
2398 This option specifies a command to be run whenever the service is
2399 disconnected. It takes the usual substitutions. The command may be run
2400 as the root on some systems.
2402 An interesting example may be do unmount server resources:
2404 postexec = /etc/umount /cdrom
2409 none (no command executed)
2412 postexec = echo \e"%u disconnected from %S from %m (%I)\e" >> /tmp/log
2415 This parameter forces a printer to interpret the print files as
2416 postscript. This is done by adding a %! to the start of print output.
2418 This is most useful when you have lots of PCs that persist in putting
2419 a control-D at the start of print jobs, which then confuses your
2430 This option specifies a command to be run whenever the service is
2431 connected to. It takes the usual substitutions.
2433 An interesting example is to send the users a welcome message every
2434 time they log in. Maybe a message of the day? Here is an example:
2436 preexec = csh -c 'echo \e"Welcome to %S!\e" | \e
2437 /usr/local/samba/bin/smbclient -M %m -I %I' &
2439 Of course, this could get annoying after a while :-)
2444 none (no command executed)
2447 preexec = echo \e"%u connected to %S from %m (%I)\e" >> /tmp/log
2449 .SS preferred master (G)
2450 This boolean parameter controls if Samba is a preferred master browser
2452 If this is set to true, on startup, samba will force an election,
2453 and it will have a slight advantage in winning the election.
2454 It is recommended that this parameter is used in conjunction
2455 with domain master = yes, so that samba can guarantee becoming
2458 Use this option with caution, because if there are several hosts
2459 (whether samba servers, Windows 95 or NT) that are preferred master
2460 browsers on the same subnet, they will each periodically and continuously
2461 attempt to become the local master browser. This will result in
2462 unnecessary broadcast traffic and reduced browsing capabilities.
2468 preferred master = no
2471 This is an alias for "auto services"
2473 .SS preserve case (S)
2475 This controls if new filenames are created with the case that the
2476 client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default" case.
2481 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for a fuller discussion.
2483 .SS print command (S)
2484 After a print job has finished spooling to a service, this command will be
2485 used via a system() call to process the spool file. Typically the command
2486 specified will submit the spool file to the host's printing subsystem, but
2487 there is no requirement that this be the case. The server will not remove the
2488 spool file, so whatever command you specify should remove the spool file when
2489 it has been processed, otherwise you will need to manually remove old spool
2492 The print command is simply a text string. It will be used verbatim,
2493 with two exceptions: All occurrences of "%s" will be replaced by the
2494 appropriate spool file name, and all occurrences of "%p" will be
2495 replaced by the appropriate printer name. The spool file name is
2496 generated automatically by the server, the printer name is discussed
2499 The full path name will be used for the filename if %s is not preceded
2500 by a /. If you don't like this (it can stuff up some lpq output) then
2501 use %f instead. Any occurrences of %f get replaced by the spool
2502 filename without the full path at the front.
2504 The print command MUST contain at least one occurrence of "%s" or %f -
2505 the "%p" is optional. At the time a job is submitted, if no printer
2506 name is supplied the "%p" will be silently removed from the printer
2509 If specified in the [global] section, the print command given will be used
2510 for any printable service that does not have its own print command specified.
2512 If there is neither a specified print command for a printable service nor a
2513 global print command, spool files will be created but not processed and (most
2514 importantly) not removed.
2516 Note that printing may fail on some UNIXes from the "nobody"
2517 account. If this happens then create an alternative guest account that
2518 can print and set the "guest account" in the [global] section.
2520 You can form quite complex print commands by realising that they are
2521 just passed to a shell. For example the following will log a print
2522 job, print the file, then remove it. Note that ; is the usual
2523 separator for command in shell scripts.
2525 print command = echo Printing %s >> /tmp/print.log; lpr -P %p %s; rm %s
2527 You may have to vary this command considerably depending on how you
2528 normally print files on your system.
2531 print command = lpr -r -P %p %s
2534 print command = /usr/local/samba/bin/myprintscript %p %s
2539 A synonym for this parameter is 'print ok'.
2541 If this parameter is 'yes', then clients may open, write to and submit spool
2542 files on the directory specified for the service.
2544 Note that a printable service will ALWAYS allow writing to the service path
2545 (user privileges permitting) via the spooling of print data. The 'read only'
2546 parameter controls only non-printing access to the resource.
2554 .SS printcap name (G)
2555 This parameter may be used to override the compiled-in default printcap
2556 name used by the server (usually /etc/printcap). See the discussion of the
2557 [printers] section above for reasons why you might want to do this.
2559 For those of you without a printcap (say on SysV) you can just create a
2560 minimal file that looks like a printcap and set "printcap name =" in
2561 [global] to point at it.
2563 A minimal printcap file would look something like this:
2575 where the | separates aliases of a printer. The fact that the second
2576 alias has a space in it gives a hint to Samba that it's a comment.
2578 NOTE: Under AIX the default printcap name is "/etc/qconfig". Samba
2579 will assume the file is in AIX "qconfig" format if the string
2580 "/qconfig" appears in the printcap filename.
2583 printcap name = /etc/printcap
2586 printcap name = /etc/myprintcap
2588 A synonym for this parameter is 'printer name'.
2590 This parameter specifies the name of the printer to which print jobs spooled
2591 through a printable service will be sent.
2593 If specified in the [global] section, the printer name given will be used
2594 for any printable service that does not have its own printer name specified.
2597 none (but may be 'lp' on many systems)
2600 printer name = laserwriter
2602 .SS printer driver (S)
2603 This option allows you to control the string that clients receive when
2604 they ask the server for the printer driver associated with a
2605 printer. If you are using Windows95 or WindowsNT then you can use this
2606 to automate the setup of printers on your system.
2608 You need to set this parameter to the exact string (case sensitive)
2609 that describes the appropriate printer driver for your system.
2610 If you don't know the exact string to use then you should first try
2611 with no "printer driver" option set and the client will give you a
2612 list of printer drivers. The appropriate strings are shown in a
2613 scrollbox after you have chosen the printer manufacturer.
2616 printer driver = HP LaserJet 4L
2618 .SS printer name (S)
2623 This parameters controls how printer status information is interpreted
2624 on your system, and also affects the default values for the "print
2625 command", "lpq command" and "lprm command".
2627 Currently six printing styles are supported. They are "printing =
2628 bsd", "printing = sysv", "printing = hpux", "printing = aix",
2629 "printing = qnx" and "printing = plp".
2631 To see what the defaults are for the other print commands when using
2632 these three options use the "testparm" program.
2636 The value of the parameter (a string) is the highest protocol level that will
2637 be supported by the server.
2639 Possible values are CORE, COREPLUS, LANMAN1, LANMAN2 and NT1. The relative
2640 merits of each are discussed in the README file.
2642 Normally this option should not be set as the automatic negotiation
2643 phase in the SMB protocol takes care of choosing the appropriate protocol.
2651 A synonym for this parameter is 'guest ok'.
2653 If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then no password is required
2654 to connect to the service. Privileges will be those of the guest
2657 See the section below on user/password validation for more information about
2666 This is a list of users that are given read-only access to a
2667 service. If the connecting user is in this list then they will
2668 not be given write access, no matter what the "read only" option
2669 is set to. The list can include group names using the @group syntax.
2671 See also the "write list" option
2677 read list = mary, @students
2684 Note that this is an inverted synonym for writable and write ok.
2685 .SS read prediction (G)
2686 This options enables or disables the read prediction code used to
2687 speed up reads from the server. When enabled the server will try to
2688 pre-read data from the last accessed file that was opened read-only
2689 while waiting for packets.
2692 read prediction = False
2695 read prediction = True
2697 This parameter controls whether or not the server will support raw reads when
2698 transferring data to clients.
2700 If enabled, raw reads allow reads of 65535 bytes in one packet. This
2701 typically provides a major performance benefit.
2703 However, some clients either negotiate the allowable block size incorrectly
2704 or are incapable of supporting larger block sizes, and for these clients you
2705 may need to disable raw reads.
2707 In general this parameter should be viewed as a system tuning tool and left
2708 severely alone. See also
2718 The option "read size" affects the overlap of disk reads/writes with
2719 network reads/writes. If the amount of data being transferred in
2720 several of the SMB commands (currently SMBwrite, SMBwriteX and
2721 SMBreadbraw) is larger than this value then the server begins writing
2722 the data before it has received the whole packet from the network, or
2723 in the case of SMBreadbraw, it begins writing to the network before
2724 all the data has been read from disk.
2726 This overlapping works best when the speeds of disk and network access
2727 are similar, having very little effect when the speed of one is much
2728 greater than the other.
2730 The default value is 2048, but very little experimentation has been
2731 done yet to determine the optimal value, and it is likely that the best
2732 value will vary greatly between systems anyway. A value over 65536 is
2733 pointless and will cause you to allocate memory unnecessarily.
2741 .SS remote announce (G)
2743 This option allows you to setup nmbd to periodically announce itself
2744 to arbitrary IP addresses with an arbitrary workgroup name.
2746 This is useful if you want your Samba server to appear in a remote
2747 workgroup for which the normal browse propagation rules don't
2748 work. The remote workgroup can be anywhere that you can send IP
2753 remote announce = 192.168.2.255/SERVERS 192.168.4.255/STAFF
2755 the above line would cause nmbd to announce itself to the two given IP
2756 addresses using the given workgroup names. If you leave out the
2757 workgroup name then the one given in the "workgroup" option is used
2760 The IP addresses you choose would normally be the broadcast addresses
2761 of the remote networks, but can also be the IP addresses of known
2762 browse masters if your network config is that stable.
2764 This option replaces similar functionality from the nmbd lmhosts file.
2768 This options controls whether Samba will allow a previously validated
2769 username/password pair to be used to attach to a share. Thus if you
2770 connect to \e\eserver\eshare1 then to \e\eserver\eshare2 it won't
2771 automatically allow the client to request connection to the second
2772 share as the same username as the first without a password.
2774 If "revalidate" is True then the client will be denied automatic
2775 access as the same username.
2789 .SS root directory (G)
2790 Synonyms for this parameter are 'root dir' and 'root'.
2792 The server will chroot() to this directory on startup. This is not
2793 strictly necessary for secure operation. Even without it the server
2794 will deny access to files not in one of the service entries. It may
2795 also check for, and deny access to, soft links to other parts of the
2796 filesystem, or attempts to use .. in file names to access other
2797 directories (depending on the setting of the "wide links" parameter).
2799 Adding a "root dir" entry other than "/" adds an extra level of security,
2800 but at a price. It absolutely ensures that no access is given to files not
2801 in the sub-tree specified in the "root dir" option, *including* some files
2802 needed for complete operation of the server. To maintain full operability
2803 of the server you will need to mirror some system files into the "root dir"
2804 tree. In particular you will need to mirror /etc/passwd (or a subset of it),
2805 and any binaries or configuration files needed for printing (if required).
2806 The set of files that must be mirrored is operating system dependent.
2812 root directory = /homes/smb
2813 .SS root postexec (S)
2815 This is the same as postexec except that the command is run as
2816 root. This is useful for unmounting filesystems (such as cdroms) after
2817 a connection is closed.
2819 .SS root preexec (S)
2821 This is the same as preexec except that the command is run as
2822 root. This is useful for mounting filesystems (such as cdroms) before
2823 a connection is finalised.
2826 This option affects how clients respond to Samba.
2828 The option sets the "security mode bit" in replies to protocol negotiations
2829 to turn share level security on or off. Clients decide based on this bit
2830 whether (and how) to transfer user and password information to the server.
2832 The default is "security=SHARE", mainly because that was the only
2833 option at one stage.
2835 The alternatives are "security = user" or "security = server".
2837 If your PCs use usernames that are the same as their usernames on the
2838 UNIX machine then you will want to use "security = user". If you
2839 mostly use usernames that don't exist on the UNIX box then use
2842 There is a bug in WfWg that may affect your decision. When in user
2843 level security a WfWg client will totally ignore the password you type
2844 in the "connect drive" dialog box. This makes it very difficult (if
2845 not impossible) to connect to a Samba service as anyone except the
2846 user that you are logged into WfWg as.
2848 If you use "security = server" then Samba will try to validate the
2849 username/password by passing it to another SMB server, such as an NT
2850 box. If this fails it will revert to "security = USER".
2852 See the "password server" option for more details.
2859 .SS server string (G)
2860 This controls what string will show up in the printer comment box in
2861 print manager and next to the IPC connection in "net view". It can be
2862 any string that you wish to show to your users.
2864 It also sets what will appear in browse lists next to the machine name.
2866 A %v will be replaced with the Samba version number.
2868 A %h will be replaced with the hostname.
2871 server string = Samba %v
2874 server string = University of GNUs Samba Server
2876 .SS set directory (S)
2877 If 'set directory = no', then users of the service may not use the setdir
2878 command to change directory.
2880 The setdir command is only implemented in the Digital Pathworks client. See the
2881 Pathworks documentation for details.
2889 .SS shared file entries (G)
2890 This parameter is only useful when Samba has been compiled with FAST_SHARE_MODES.
2891 It specifies the number of hash bucket entries used for share file locking.
2892 You should never change this parameter unless you have studied the source
2893 and know what you are doing.
2896 shared file entries = 113
2898 .SS shared mem size (G)
2899 This parameter is only useful when Samba has been compiled with FAST_SHARE_MODES.
2900 It specifies the size of the shared memory (in bytes) to use between smbd
2901 processes. You should never change this parameter unless you have studied
2902 the source and know what you are doing.
2905 shared mem size = 102400
2907 .SS smb passwd file (G)
2908 This option sets the path to the encrypted smbpasswd file. This is a *VERY
2909 DANGEROUS OPTION* if the smb.conf is user writable. By default the path
2910 to the smbpasswd file is compiled into Samba.
2913 This sets the full path to the smbrun binary. This defaults to the
2914 value in the Makefile.
2916 You must get this path right for many services to work correctly.
2922 smbrun = /usr/local/samba/bin/smbrun
2926 This enables or disables the honouring of the "share modes" during a
2927 file open. These modes are used by clients to gain exclusive read or
2928 write access to a file.
2930 These open modes are not directly supported by UNIX, so they are
2931 simulated using lock files in the "lock directory". The "lock
2932 directory" specified in smb.conf must be readable by all users.
2934 The share modes that are enabled by this option are DENY_DOS,
2935 DENY_ALL, DENY_READ, DENY_WRITE, DENY_NONE and DENY_FCB.
2937 Enabling this option gives full share compatibility but may cost a bit
2938 of processing time on the UNIX server. They are enabled by default.
2946 .SS short preserve case (S)
2948 This controls if new short filenames are created with the case that
2949 the client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default" case.
2952 short preserve case = no
2954 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for a fuller discussion.
2956 .SS socket address (G)
2958 This option allows you to control what address Samba will listen for
2959 connections on. This is used to support multiple virtual interfaces on
2960 the one server, each with a different configuration.
2962 By default samba will accept connections on any address.
2965 socket address = 192.168.2.20
2967 .SS socket options (G)
2968 This option (which can also be invoked with the -O command line
2969 option) allows you to set socket options to be used when talking with
2972 Socket options are controls on the networking layer of the operating
2973 systems which allow the connection to be tuned.
2975 This option will typically be used to tune your Samba server for
2976 optimal performance for your local network. There is no way that Samba
2977 can know what the optimal parameters are for your net, so you must
2978 experiment and choose them yourself. I strongly suggest you read the
2979 appropriate documentation for your operating system first (perhaps
2980 "man setsockopt" will help).
2982 You may find that on some systems Samba will say "Unknown socket
2983 option" when you supply an option. This means you either mis-typed it
2984 or you need to add an include file to includes.h for your OS. If the
2985 latter is the case please send the patch to me
2986 (samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au).
2988 Any of the supported socket options may be combined in any way you
2989 like, as long as your OS allows it.
2991 This is the list of socket options currently settable using this
3014 Those marked with a * take an integer argument. The others can
3015 optionally take a 1 or 0 argument to enable or disable the option, by
3016 default they will be enabled if you don't specify 1 or 0.
3018 To specify an argument use the syntax SOME_OPTION=VALUE for example
3019 SO_SNDBUF=8192. Note that you must not have any spaces before or after
3022 If you are on a local network then a sensible option might be
3024 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
3026 If you have an almost unloaded local network and you don't mind a lot
3027 of extra CPU usage in the server then you could try
3029 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY TCP_NODELAY
3031 If you are on a wide area network then perhaps try setting
3034 Note that several of the options may cause your Samba server to fail
3035 completely. Use these options with caution!
3041 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
3047 This enables or disables logging of connections to a status file that
3053 won't be able to tell you what
3054 connections are active.
3062 .SS strict locking (S)
3063 This is a boolean that controls the handling of file locking in the
3064 server. When this is set to yes the server will check every read and
3065 write access for file locks, and deny access if locks exist. This can
3066 be slow on some systems.
3068 When strict locking is "no" the server does file lock checks only when
3069 the client explicitly asks for them.
3071 Well behaved clients always ask for lock checks when it is important,
3072 so in the vast majority of cases "strict locking = no" is preferable.
3078 strict locking = yes
3081 This is a boolean that controls whether to strip trailing dots off
3082 UNIX filenames. This helps with some CDROMs that have filenames ending in a
3092 This parameter maps how Samba debug messages are logged onto the
3093 system syslog logging levels. Samba debug level zero maps onto
3094 syslog LOG_ERR, debug level one maps onto LOG_WARNING, debug
3095 level two maps to LOG_NOTICE, debug level three maps onto LOG_INFO.
3096 The paramter sets the threshold for doing the mapping, all Samba
3097 debug messages above this threashold are mapped to syslog LOG_DEBUG
3105 If this parameter is set then Samba debug messages are logged into
3106 the system syslog only, and not to the debug log files.
3113 This is a boolean parameter that controls whether writes will always
3114 be written to stable storage before the write call returns. If this is
3115 false then the server will be guided by the client's request in each
3116 write call (clients can set a bit indicating that a particular write
3117 should be synchronous). If this is true then every write will be
3118 followed by a fsync() call to ensure the data is written to disk.
3127 This parameter is a setting in minutes to add to the normal GMT to
3128 local time conversion. This is useful if you are serving a lot of PCs
3129 that have incorrect daylight saving time handling.
3138 This parameter determines if nmbd advertises itself as a time server
3139 to Windows clients. The default is False.
3147 .SS unix realname (G)
3148 This boolean parameter when set causes samba to supply the real name field
3149 from the unix password file to the client. This is useful for setting up
3150 mail clients and WWW browsers on systems used by more than one person.
3162 A synonym for this parameter is 'user'.
3164 Multiple users may be specified in a comma-delimited list, in which case the
3165 supplied password will be tested against each username in turn (left to right).
3167 The username= line is needed only when the PC is unable to supply its own
3168 username. This is the case for the coreplus protocol or where your
3169 users have different WfWg usernames to UNIX usernames. In both these
3170 cases you may also be better using the \e\eserver\eshare%user syntax
3173 The username= line is not a great solution in many cases as it means Samba
3174 will try to validate the supplied password against each of the
3175 usernames in the username= line in turn. This is slow and a bad idea for
3176 lots of users in case of duplicate passwords. You may get timeouts or
3177 security breaches using this parameter unwisely.
3179 Samba relies on the underlying UNIX security. This parameter does not
3180 restrict who can login, it just offers hints to the Samba server as to
3181 what usernames might correspond to the supplied password. Users can
3182 login as whoever they please and they will be able to do no more
3183 damage than if they started a telnet session. The daemon runs as the
3184 user that they log in as, so they cannot do anything that user cannot
3187 To restrict a service to a particular set of users you can use the
3188 "valid users=" line.
3190 If any of the usernames begin with a @ then the name will be looked up
3191 in the groups file and will expand to a list of all users in the group
3192 of that name. Note that searching though a groups file can take quite
3193 some time, and some clients may time out during the search.
3195 See the section below on username/password validation for more information
3196 on how this parameter determines access to the services.
3199 The guest account if a guest service, else the name of the service.
3203 username = fred, mary, jack, jane, @users, @pcgroup
3205 .SS username level (G)
3207 This option helps Samba to try and 'guess' at the real UNIX username,
3208 as many DOS clients send an all-uppercase username. By default Samba
3209 tries all lowercase, followed by the username with the first letter
3210 capitalized, and fails if the username is not found on the UNIX machine.
3212 If this parameter is set to non-zero the behaviour changes. This
3213 parameter is a number that specifies the number of uppercase combinations
3214 to try whilst trying to determine the UNIX user name. The higher the number
3215 the more combinations will be tried, but the slower the discovery
3216 of usernames will be. Use this parameter when you have strange
3217 usernames on your UNIX machine, such as 'AstrangeUser'.
3225 .SS username map (G)
3227 This option allows you to to specify a file containing a mapping of
3228 usernames from the clients to the server. This can be used for several
3229 purposes. The most common is to map usernames that users use on DOS or
3230 Windows machines to those that the UNIX box uses. The other is to map
3231 multiple users to a single username so that they can more easily share
3234 The map file is parsed line by line. Each line should contain a single
3235 UNIX username on the left then a '=' followed by a list of usernames
3236 on the right. The list of usernames on the right may contain names of
3237 the form @group in which case they will match any UNIX username in
3238 that group. The special client name '*' is a wildcard and matches any
3241 The file is processed on each line by taking the supplied username and
3242 comparing it with each username on the right hand side of the '='
3243 signs. If the supplied name matches any of the names on the right
3244 hand side then it is replaced with the name on the left. Processing
3245 then continues with the next line.
3247 If any line begins with a '#' or a ';' then it is ignored
3249 For example to map from the name "admin" or "administrator" to the UNIX
3250 name "root" you would use
3252 root = admin administrator
3254 Or to map anyone in the UNIX group "system" to the UNIX name "sys" you
3259 You can have as many mappings as you like in a username map file.
3261 Note that the remapping is applied to all occurrences of
3262 usernames. Thus if you connect to "\e\eserver\efred" and "fred" is
3263 remapped to "mary" then you will actually be connecting to
3264 "\e\eserver\emary" and will need to supply a password suitable for
3265 "mary" not "fred". The only exception to this is the username passed
3266 to the "password server" (if you have one). The password server will
3267 receive whatever username the client supplies without modification.
3269 Also note that no reverse mapping is done. The main effect this has is
3270 with printing. Users who have been mapped may have trouble deleting
3271 print jobs as PrintManager under WfWg will think they don't own the
3278 username map = /usr/local/samba/lib/users.map
3282 The option allows you to specify additional characters that should be
3283 considered valid by the server in filenames. This is particularly
3284 useful for national character sets, such as adding u-umlaut or a-ring.
3286 The option takes a list of characters in either integer or character
3287 form with spaces between them. If you give two characters with a colon
3288 between them then it will be taken as an lowercase:uppercase pair.
3290 If you have an editor capable of entering the characters into the
3291 config file then it is probably easiest to use this method. Otherwise
3292 you can specify the characters in octal, decimal or hexadecimal form
3293 using the usual C notation.
3295 For example to add the single character 'Z' to the charset (which is a
3296 pointless thing to do as it's already there) you could do one of the
3301 valid chars = 0132:0172
3303 The last two examples above actually add two characters, and alter
3304 the uppercase and lowercase mappings appropriately.
3306 Note that you MUST specify this parameter after the "client code page"
3307 parameter if you have both set. If "client code page" is set after
3308 the "valid chars" parameter the "valid chars" settings will be
3311 See also the "client code page" parameter.
3315 Samba defaults to using a reasonable set of valid characters
3320 valid chars = 0345:0305 0366:0326 0344:0304
3322 The above example allows filenames to have the swedish characters in
3325 NOTE: It is actually quite difficult to correctly produce a "valid
3326 chars" line for a particular system. To automate the process
3327 tino@augsburg.net has written a package called "validchars" which will
3328 automatically produce a complete "valid chars" line for a given client
3329 system. Look in the examples subdirectory for this package.
3332 This is a list of users that should be allowed to login to this
3333 service. A name starting with @ is interpreted as a UNIX group.
3335 If this is empty (the default) then any user can login. If a username
3336 is in both this list and the "invalid users" list then access is
3337 denied for that user.
3339 The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is useful in the
3342 See also "invalid users"
3345 No valid users list. (anyone can login)
3348 valid users = greg, @pcusers
3352 This is a list of files and directories that are neither visible nor
3353 accessible. Each entry in the list must be separated by a "/", which
3354 allows spaces to be included in the entry. '*' and '?' can be used to
3355 specify multiple files or directories as in DOS wildcards.
3357 Each entry must be a unix path, not a DOS path and must not include the
3358 unix directory separator "/".
3360 Note that the case sensitivity option is applicable in vetoing files.
3362 One feature of the veto files parameter that it is important to be
3363 aware of, is that if a directory contains nothing but files that
3364 match the veto files parameter (which means that Windows/DOS clients
3365 cannot ever see them) is deleted, the veto files within that directory
3366 *are automatically deleted* along with it, if the user has UNIX permissions
3369 Setting this parameter will affect the performance of Samba, as
3370 it will be forced to check all files and directories for a match
3371 as they are scanned.
3373 See also "hide files" and "case sensitive"
3376 No files or directories are vetoed.
3380 Veto any files containing the word Security,
3381 any ending in .tmp, and any directory containing the
3384 veto files = /*Security*/*.tmp/*root*/
3387 Veto the Apple specific files that a NetAtalk server
3390 veto files = /.AppleDouble/.bin/.AppleDesktop/Network Trash Folder/
3393 This allows you to override the volume label returned for a
3394 share. Useful for CDROMs with installation programs that insist on a
3395 particular volume label.
3397 The default is the name of the share
3400 This parameter controls whether or not links in the UNIX file system may be
3401 followed by the server. Links that point to areas within the directory tree
3402 exported by the server are always allowed; this parameter controls access
3403 only to areas that are outside the directory tree being exported.
3413 This is a boolean that controls if nmbd will respond to broadcast name
3414 queries on behalf of other hosts. You may need to set this to no for
3421 This specifies the DNS name (or IP address) of the WINS server that Samba
3422 should register with. If you have a WINS server on your network then you
3423 should set this to the WINS servers name.
3425 You should point this at your WINS server if you have a multi-subnetted
3430 .SS wins support (G)
3432 This boolean controls if Samba will act as a WINS server. You should
3433 not set this to true unless you have a multi-subnetted network and
3434 you wish a particular nmbd to be your WINS server. Note that you
3435 should *NEVER* set this to true on more than one machine in your
3442 This controls what workgroup your server will appear to be in when
3452 A synonym for this parameter is 'write ok'. An inverted synonym is 'read only'.
3454 If this parameter is 'no', then users of a service may not create or modify
3455 files in the service's directory.
3457 Note that a printable service ('printable = yes') will ALWAYS allow
3458 writing to the directory (user privileges permitting), but only via
3459 spooling operations.
3469 This is a list of users that are given read-write access to a
3470 service. If the connecting user is in this list then they will be
3471 given write access, no matter what the "read only" option is set
3472 to. The list can include group names using the @group syntax.
3474 Note that if a user is in both the read list and the write list then
3475 they will be given write access.
3477 See also the "read list" option
3483 write list = admin, root, @staff
3491 This parameter controls whether or not the server will support raw writes when
3492 transferring data from clients.
3499 .SH NOTE ABOUT USERNAME/PASSWORD VALIDATION
3500 There are a number of ways in which a user can connect to a
3501 service. The server follows the following steps in determining if it
3502 will allow a connection to a specified service. If all the steps fail
3503 then the connection request is rejected. If one of the steps pass then
3504 the following steps are not checked.
3506 If the service is marked "guest only = yes" then steps 1 to 5 are skipped
3508 Step 1: If the client has passed a username/password pair and that
3509 username/password pair is validated by the UNIX system's password
3510 programs then the connection is made as that username. Note that this
3511 includes the \e\eserver\eservice%username method of passing a username.
3513 Step 2: If the client has previously registered a username with the
3514 system and now supplies a correct password for that username then the
3515 connection is allowed.
3517 Step 3: The client's netbios name and any previously used user names
3518 are checked against the supplied password, if they match then the
3519 connection is allowed as the corresponding user.
3521 Step 4: If the client has previously validated a username/password
3522 pair with the server and the client has passed the validation token
3523 then that username is used. This step is skipped if "revalidate = yes"
3526 Step 5: If a "user = " field is given in the smb.conf file for the
3527 service and the client has supplied a password, and that password
3528 matches (according to the UNIX system's password checking) with one of
3529 the usernames from the user= field then the connection is made as the
3530 username in the "user=" line. If one of the username in the user= list
3531 begins with a @ then that name expands to a list of names in the group
3534 Step 6: If the service is a guest service then a connection is made as
3535 the username given in the "guest account =" for the service,
3536 irrespective of the supplied password.
3538 Although the configuration file permits service names to contain spaces,
3539 your client software may not. Spaces will be ignored in comparisons anyway,
3540 so it shouldn't be a problem - but be aware of the possibility.
3542 On a similar note, many clients - especially DOS clients - limit service
3543 names to eight characters. Smbd has no such limitation, but attempts
3544 to connect from such clients will fail if they truncate the service names.
3545 For this reason you should probably keep your service names down to eight
3546 characters in length.
3548 Use of the [homes] and [printers] special sections make life for an
3549 administrator easy, but the various combinations of default attributes can be
3550 tricky. Take extreme care when designing these sections. In particular,
3551 ensure that the permissions on spool directories are correct.
3553 This man page is (mostly) correct for version 1.9.16 of the Samba suite, plus some
3554 of the recent patches to it. These notes will necessarily lag behind
3555 development of the software, so it is possible that your version of
3556 the server has extensions or parameter semantics that differ from or are not
3557 covered by this man page. Please notify these to the address below for
3560 Prior to version 1.5.21 of the Samba suite, the configuration file was
3561 radically different (more primitive). If you are using a version earlier than
3562 1.8.05, it is STRONGLY recommended that you upgrade.
3567 .SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
3576 .BR hosts_access (5)
3578 [This section under construction]
3580 Most diagnostics issued by the server are logged in a specified log file. The
3581 log file name is specified at compile time, but may be overridden on the
3582 smbd command line (see
3585 The number and nature of diagnostics available depends on the debug level used
3586 by the server. If you have problems, set the debug level to 3 and peruse the
3589 Most messages are reasonably self-explanatory. Unfortunately, at time of
3590 creation of this man page the source code is still too fluid to warrant
3591 describing each and every diagnostic. At this stage your best bet is still
3592 to grep the source code and inspect the conditions that gave rise to the
3593 diagnostics you are seeing.
3597 Please send bug reports, comments and so on to:
3600 .B samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)
3603 or to the mailing list:
3606 .B samba@listproc.anu.edu.au
3609 You may also like to subscribe to the announcement channel:
3612 .B samba-announce@listproc.anu.edu.au
3615 To subscribe to these lists send a message to
3616 listproc@listproc.anu.edu.au with a body of "subscribe samba Your
3617 Name" or "subscribe samba-announce Your Name".
3619 Errors or suggestions for improvements to the Samba man pages should be
3623 .B samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)